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Re: A look at the 2012 NFL draft

[quote user="deekay7685"]tj graham is said to have poor hands. pure speed guy. much better returner than wideout.
doug martin is said not to be a good blocker.
i would look for chris polk in the 2nd round, he is the best all around rb after richardson.[/quote] I read that polk was the worst blocker of the rb group today

Re: A look at the 2012 NFL draft

The North team took to the field of Ladd Peebles Stadium for their
second practice of Senior Bowl on Tuesday morning. The Minnesota Vikings
coaching staff was in charge of the North team and they had the players
practicing in full pads. Tuesday and Wednesday are the full-padded
sessions. To start out practice they worked on special teams and in
their individual position groups.

During the practice and beforehand, Wisconsin guard Kevin Zeitler spent a
lot of time working at center. Zeitler played next to the best center
in college football in Peter Konz, so he didn't see any game action at
the position as a collegiate player the past few years. If Zeitler can
show NFL teams that he has the capacity to play some center, that could
give his draft stock a boost.

During the individual period the linebackers worked on their footwork.
Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David has extremely quick feet, and David
stood out above the other linebackers. North Carolina State linebacker
Audie Cole is a little stiff. He probably would fit best as an inside
linebacker in the 3-4. Boise State outside linebacker Shea McClellin was
surprisingly athletic.

After the individual period, the linebackers went to a one-on-one
scrimmage against running backs, fullbacks and tight ends in blitz
protection. Overall the linebackers have the advantage in this drill,
but there were players who stood out on both sides of the ball. Here is a
scorecard of some of the one-on-one action:

[*] David started the session by blasting Wisconsin fullback Bradie
Ewing. The hit from David was extremely hard and rocked Ewing off
balance. That allowed the speedy David to jet by him for the victory.
David ran through Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead on a rush. David
blasted Washington running back Chris Polk to the ground for another
win. The only player who beat David was Massachusetts tight end Emil
Igwenagu. He rode David around the outside on a speed rush.

[*] Other than David, the other linebacker to really standout
was Cole. He beat Polk with a swim move, dodged Ewing with a jab step,
and defeated Ohio State running back Boom Herron with a power swim move.
Cole lost a rep to Missouri tight end Michael Egnew when he rode him
around the pocket.

[*] Utah State linebacker Bobby Wagner shed a block from Boise
State's Doug Martin before getting to the marker. Wagner bull rushed
through Polk for a victory.

[*] Nevada linebacker James-Michael Johnson had a resounding
win when he ran over Herron on one rush. Johnson also had wins against
Ewing and Igwenagu.

[*] Ewing lost a number of reps but he also had a win against Boise State's Shea McClellin when he rode him around the pocket.

[*] McClellin destroyed Herron on a power rush.

[*] Pead stuffed Johnson on one rush. Of the running backs,
Pead has the best technique in fitting up on blitzers and getting in
good position. Even in his losses he fought well.

[*] Pead and Martin were the two running backs who performed
the best in their position group. Polk had an ugly session, while Herron
was beat with ease. Both Pead and Martin are helping their draft stock
with showing the potential to be trusted third-down running backs.

The wide receivers and cornerbacks went against each other in
one-on-ones. Overall the defensive backs fared better than they did on
Monday, but wideouts have an advantage in this drill as they know the
route and the cornerback has no safety help. Here is a run down of some
of the one-on-one action:

[*] Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt is a polished route-runner
and he had a good session. McNutt had wins against Iowa State
cornerback Leonard Johnson, Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and Cal
Poly cornerback Asa Jackson. McNutt executes the slant route extremely
well and that worked to get open against those cornerbacks. On a deep
post, McNutt had a step on Boston College cornerback Donnie Fletcher,
but McNutt couldn't get a handle on a pass thrown behind him. It was a
catch he probably should've made.

[*] A real standout so far has been Cal wide receiver Marvin
Jones. He beat Dennard on a deep pass along the sideline for a big catch
downfield. Jones burned Johnson on a slant route and got a good deal of
space to come open. On Monday and Tuesday, Jones has shown quickness in
and out of his breaks to get separation from defensive backs.

[*] Dennard hasn't had a strong week. At times he hasn't done
well in turning and running with receivers. Dennard did have a win when
he forced an incompletion on a quick out to North Carolina State wide
receiver T.J. Graham. This environment isn't the best for Dennard as he
performs better in the games when he is playing within a scheme. This
week could bump his stock down.

[*] Fletcher had a good session overall. He almost had a diving
interception after Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick slipped
on the play. Fletcher had tight coverage on Gerell Robinson on an out
route and forced a bobbled pass that went incomplete as Robinson went
out of bounds.

The defensive line and offensive lines battled in one-on-ones, and there
are definitely some prospects who are really helping themselves. The
defensive line has a bigger advantage in this drill because they don't
have to play the run before rushing the passer like they do in many
plays in an actual game. They also don't take on any double teams or
have to overcome a chip from a running back or tight end. Here is a
scorecard of some of the one-on-one action:

[*] On two reps, Connecticut defensive tackle Kendall Reyes
beat Wisconsin guard Kevin Zeitler with a speed rush. Reyes had a really
good day. He also bull rushed Wake Forest guard Joe Looney to get to
the quarterback marker.

[*] Looney was a late addition to the Senior Bowl, and he had a
horrible debut practice. He was bull rushed twice by Washington
defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu. The big nose tackle had no problem
pushing Looney onto the marker. It is tough for players to come in late,
but Looney showed no strength to anchor.

[*] Zeitler had a win when he stonewalled a bull rush from
Boise State defensive tackle Billy Winn, but he also had a rare loss to a
bull rush courtesy of Ta'amu.

[*] One of the biggest stars on Tuesday was Michigan defensive
tackle Mike Martin. He abused Ohio State center Mike Brewster on
multiple reps. He had a few wins on bull rushes and got one win after he
rocked Brewster onto his heels before jetting by the center. It was an
impressive day from Martin and a disappointing day for Brewster. There
was a win for Brewster when he rode Ta'amu around the middle of the
pocket on a bull rush.

[*] Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams is a potential
first-round pick but he is very inconsistent. He can look great and
terrible in back-to-back plays. His first rep was a loss as Virginia
defensive end Cam Johnson blew by him on a speed rush. Penn State
defensive Jack Crawford did the same thing. Adams rebounded to get some
wins including a rush that he stopped cold from Johnson. Adams is a more
advanced run blocker than pass blocker entering the next level.

[*] Overall Cincinnati defensive end Derek Wolfe showed well in
the one-on-ones. It started slowly when he got pushed around in an ugly
fashion by Iowa State tackle/guard Kelechi Osemele. Osemele shoved
Wolfe off balance and into the ground. Wolfe bull rushed Penn State's
Johnnie Troutman on one rep to get a win. In the rematch Wolfe beat
Troutman with a speed rush around the edge. Wolfe beat Washington
offensive tackle Senio Kelemete with a bull rush.

[*] Osemele had an impressive win when he stopped a spin move
dead in its tracks from Marshall's Vinny Curry. After a tough opening
day, Osemele played much better on Tuesday.

[*] Kelemete battled tough with some wins and losses. He had a
win on one rep against Curry. After some initial penetration, Kelemete
recovered to keep Curry at bay. Curry beat Kelemete with a speed edge
rush to close out the one-on-ones.

In the team scrimmage portion of practice, Martin continued to stand
out. He burst through the line to blow up one run early on. Martin kept
coming and stuffed Polk at the line of scrimmage after Martin beat Utah
guard Tony Bergstrom. Don't be surprised if you hear about Martin being
one of the stars of Senior Bowl.

There were a few other notable events in Monday's practice. In the team
scrimmage McClellin got a sack on a speed rush around the corner.
Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson overthrew tight end Michael Egnew
running down the middle of the field after Egnew got a step on Nevada
linebacker James-Michael Johnson. Cousins was intercepted by Boise State
safety George Iloka after he undercut a pass intended for Igwenagu. It
was a good read and break on the ball by Iloka. The quarterbacks did not
impress on Tuesday. Cousins is the best prospect of the bunch. All of
them had fumbled snaps, especially Boise State's Kellen Moore, who
wasn't under center much in college.

Re: A look at the 2012 NFL draft

I love some Audie Cole! I hope either he or Bobby Wagner end up in Blue

2012 Senior Bowl: Tuesday North Practice Report

Audie Cole, ILB, N.C. State

Audie Cole is having a really good week thus far. He looked solid in
full pads, and as DraftCountdown's Scott Wright described, "[Cole is]
rangy and athletic with good speed and quick feet."

Kirk Cousins, QB, Michigan State

The consensus is that Kirk Cousins has been the most impressive
quarterback on the North Team despite an interception to George Iloka,
with Russell Wilson being a close second (more on that later). Kellen
Moore hasn't done anything to change the popular belief that he's just a
backup at the next level.

Vinny Curry, DE/OLB, Marshall

Vinny Curry came into this week as a second-round prospect, and it
appears that won't change. He's had some good and some bad moments in
the one-on-one drills.

"He has a little bit of stiffness to him, but he has the effort,
athleticism and motor to rush the passer," said Mike Mayock. "I'm
hearing a lot a second-round grade."

Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska

Alfonzo Dennard really struggled on Monday. He was much better Tuesday,
though he was used at nickel pretty often, which might ultimately be his
position at the next level.

Mike Mayock likened Dennard's body type to Prince Amukamara's, but
really questioned his ball skills. That's not surprising, as Dennard had
four career interceptions at Nebraska.

Mike Martin, DT, Michigan

An entertaining portion of Tuesday's practice was a brief fight between
Mike Brewster and Mike Martin. Martin beat Brewster twice (was held
once), which angered the declining Ohio State center. Martin is really
helping himself with a strong week. I'll be shocked if he doesn't make
it into the top three rounds of my 2012 NFL Mock Draft, which will be updated tonight.

Chris Polk, RB, Washington

I haven't talked about the running backs much, but Chris Polk has been a
major disappointment this week. Charlie has more on this in his Tuesday Senior Bowl Practice Report.

Re: A look at the 2012 NFL draft

[quote user="nycsportzfan"][quote user="deekay7685"]tj graham is said to have poor hands. pure speed guy. much better returner than wideout.
doug martin is said not to be a good blocker.
i would look for chris polk in the 2nd round, he is the best all around rb after richardson.[/quote] I read that polk was the worst blocker of the rb group today
[/quote].They rarely use him in in pass protection.has the size for it though.Could be a problem seeing the field though in year 1.Guys like Pead and Martin are much better blockers

Re: A look at the 2012 NFL draft

[quote user="deekay7685"]tj graham is said to have poor hands. pure speed guy. much better returner than wideout.
doug martin is said not to be a good blocker.
i would look for chris polk in the 2nd round, he is the best all around rb after richardson.[/quote]TJ Graham isnt that bad of a receiver People were down on his skills before the season but I dont see it anymore he has improved.Shows a good feel to find the hole in zone coverage.he is blazing fast as well.

Doug martin needs to improve his blocking but almost all college RB's do. he is a willing blocker and shows the attitude for it.Once he gets with an NFL coaching staff im convinced he will be fine. Similar RB to Ahmad Bradshaw in some ways

Re: A look at the 2012 NFL draft

[quote user="Redeyejedi"][quote user="deekay7685"]tj graham is said to have poor hands. pure speed guy. much better returner than wideout.
doug martin is said not to be a good blocker.
i would look for chris polk in the 2nd round, he is the best all around rb after richardson.[/quote]TJ Graham isnt that bad of a receiver People were down on his skills before the season but I dont see it anymore he has improved.Shows a good feel to find the hole in zone coverage.he is blazing fast as well.

Doug martin needs to improve his blocking but almost all college RB's do. he is a willing blocker and shows the attitude for it.Once he gets with an NFL coaching staff im convinced he will be fine. Similar RB to Ahmad Bradshaw in some ways[/quote] Doug martin is faster then Bradshaw.. If martin runs a sub 450 at the combine with that 5ft 9in 219lb frame and the ability to catch outta the backfield and return kicks if needed watch the F out!!!lol Seriously Doug martin is eerily similar to Ray Rice and mjd

Re: A look at the 2012 NFL draft

Something I heard today was that scouts were getting annoyed with Nick Saban and the Alabama program. I guess they have a bad habbit of fibbing on stat sheets about guys size. I knew some teams did this, but aparently a vast majority of players Alabama has sent to the senior bowl as well as the combine over the last couple years has been over and inch, and sometime much more, shorter than his listed height.

Its more anecdotal than anything, but scouts feel it also brings doubt into the other positive things Bama coaches say about their players.

The biggest offender? Marquis Maze. Listed at 5' 10" in the bama program. Yet he measures only 5'7 at weigh ins.